Latest news with #sagegrouse
E&E News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
House Republicans target BLM sage grouse protection plans
House Republicans are taking aim at Biden administration plans to protect the greater sage grouse, while also moving to continue a long-standing prohibition on listing the imperiled species under the Endangered Species Act. On Monday, House Republicans included a provision in their fiscal 2026 spending bill for the Interior Department and EPA that would block Interior from using appropriated funding 'to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce' proposed sage grouse management plans begun, but not finalized, by the Biden administration. The Bureau of Land Management in January approved management plans for Colorado and Oregon, but it did not finish new plans for eight other states within the bird's range before President Donald Trump took office for a second term. Advertisement The provision in the House spending package comes after BLM last week told POLITICO's E&E News that officials are 'actively working with our state partners to complete the remaining greater sage grouse habitat plans with a goal of completion by the end of the year.'
E&E News
13-06-2025
- Science
- E&E News
Sage grouse study may benefit ranchers as Trump seeks to ramp up grazing
A 10-year study led by federal and academic researchers appears to dispel the long-held notion that cattle grazing and the resulting lower grass height negatively affect the success of greater sage grouse nests. The study, which included researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, University of Idaho and Forest Service, analyzed more than 1,200 sage grouse nesting sites in Idaho. It found that while grazing does reduce grass height that helps conceal grouse chicks from predators, the success rate of nests 'is no greater in pastures that were rested for 4-8 years than those currently or recently grazed.' Thus, the study found 'no indication that removing cattle from pastures affected nesting success.' Nor did it find 'compelling evidence' that the density of nesting hens increased in pastures where grazing was stopped. Advertisement 'Based on results of this research, livestock grazing, when properly managed, does not appear to negatively impact sage grouse nest survival or brood success,' it said. 'This study provides critical insights for land managers balancing livestock production with sage grouse conservation, supporting adaptive grazing strategies that maintain both economic and ecological objectives.'
E&E News
23-05-2025
- General
- E&E News
BLM nears approval of power line through sage grouse habitat
The Bureau of Land Management is advancing a massive 235-mile-long transmission line in northern Nevada that was a top Biden administration priority but that cuts through sections of sensitive greater sage grouse habitat. BLM Friday published a final environmental impact statement for the Greenlink North Transmission Project on its e-planning webpage, marking a major milestone for a power line that would transport electricity from planned renewable energy projects as well as provide increased transmission capacity in fast-growing parts of northern Nevada. The project would require amending three resource management plans to let the transmission line be routed through sections of sage grouse habitat, including near and around 59 breeding grounds called leks. Advertisement The final EIS calls for routing about 168 miles of the proposed power line to more closely follow already disturbed rangelands and areas with 'existing transmission lines.'
